Ajit Doval meets Vladimir Putin

NEW DELHI: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports in response to New Delhi’s continued purchase of crude oil from Moscow, bumping up the total tariff to 50 per cent.The Kremlin published footage of Putin shaking hands with Ajit Doval, though provided no details of what was discussed in the meeting.Doval reached Moscow on Tuesday to hold talks on strategic partnership, defence, and security cooperation between India and Russia..His visit comes as the Trump-led US administration continues to issue trade threats to countries closely aligned with Russia, including India.Doval on Thursday also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit India soon. The visit is expected to take place by the end of 2025. “We are very excited and delighted to learn about the visit of President Putin to India. I think that the dates are almost finalised now,” Doval said. “You have very rightly mentioned that we have a very special relationship, long relationship, and we highly value our strategic partnership. We have had high-level engagements and these high-level engagements have contributed very substantially. We are very excited and delighted to learn about the visit of President Putin to India. I think that the dates are almost finalised now,” he added.